Australian developers lobby again for better tax breaks

The Game Developers Association of Australia has written to the Government's arts minster and opposition minister demanding that the state extend its generous film tax credits scheme to include games studios.

A letter sent last week and forwarded to Develop follows up from a previous call by the GDAA and requests the Government urgently respond to the call.

Those making films in Australia are granted a 40 per cent tax rebate, and the association wants developers to get the same treatment.

"We have a commitment to ensuring that participants in the interactive entertainment industry are equally competitive with our overseas competitors," says the letter from Greg Bondar, executive director of the GDAA.

"In this regard, the Australian game industry is currently not operating on a level playing field either internationally but particularly domestically."

The letter points out that similar tax credits in Canada have helped its local market, and estimates that a similar scheme for Australian games developers would result in around $5m new investment being made in local developers per year.

He added: "The electronic game industry is a significant contributor to the Australian economy. It is also part of a larger global entertainment industry (now bigger than film) and a major export industry."